The Explorers of Time
by The Destroyer of Darkness
Summary: This is a story...of a journey across time...this is the story...of the Hero of Destiny... NOTE: Main characters are OCs  And, this is being remade as a new story, due to some difficulties with characters
1. Teaser

Okay...if you're one of the two people who were reading this story, and now see that all the chapters are gone and are going "WTH!", I'm sorry. No, I'm not canceling the story, but I'm doing a kind of revamp. It's going to be easier for me to do the story now, because I'm having characters I can work with taking the center stage. Fear not though, all the cut characters are only ones belonging to some video game franchises, no real life people were cut.

I'm really sorry for this change, but I feel like this time, I'm going to really be able to do this. I'm going to finish this story.

The basic plot is going to be the same, but I've decided to make the story more like Kingdom Hearts then Chrono Trigger (don't get me wrong, I loved that game, but seven main characters...it's hard to develop all of them). This will still feel lke EoT (or now, TEoT), and the same main plot will stay the same, mostly, but I'm taking out some of the franchises I had planned, like Dead Space and maybe Portal. Maybe. They could make a comeback, but I'm trying to limit all the franchises I put in, so I actually manage to finish this story.

Okay, well, I really hope you guys like the revamp. I'm going to go ahead and put in a little beginnning part here, to start off the story.

* * *

The teenager sat on the ledge of the clock tower, looking out at the scarlet sunset, taking in the sun's last rays. Unzipping his white hoodie, he leaned back against the wall of the tower underneath the large clock, and closed his eyes, listening to the normal hustle and bustle of the city below him.

His name was Will, and he was bored out of his skull, which was a lousy way to spend the last few days of summer vacation. The only thing interesting the last few days had been the dreams he'd been having. He'd always had those awesome dreams every once in awhile, but now they were happening often, and they were different. Sometimes he'd dream he was someone else, but he didn't know who. One time he seemed to be a scientist, working in a high-tech facility, and then he was battling for his life against dark creatures with glowing yellow eyes. He'd always had a vivid imgination, and a thrist for adventure, so he wondered if these dreams were only expressing his desires, but his gut told him they meant more than that...they were part of something bigger...

* * *

Yeah, that's the little teaser. Here's hoping to a first chapter this weekend!

-WillHeroX.

You guys rock! Don't forget it!


	2. The Genesis, Part 1

Hi. Finally starting this thing...sorry it's late, but now schools out, so I can really start. Here we go! (Disclaimer for series will be in the next chapter).

* * *

The Explorers of Time: The Genesis

* * *

"Uhh…Will?"

"…"

"WILL!"

Will shook his head, and looked at the brunette leaning against the wall beside him, who had a smirk on her face.

"What's up dude? You're so out of it today" she said, licking her ice pop. The girl, whose name was Nadia, was dressed in a dark purple sweatshirt and jeans, and sneakers. She was Will's best friend, even though they had only met near the end of 8th grade. They pretty much spent all their time together, shared all their secrets, and stuff like that.

"I dunno" he responded, chewing on the stick of his already finished ice pop. It was half way through October, with the weather finally starting to get cold, and school having started over a month ago. Yet Will was still up late, falling asleep sometimes past midnight, reading or playing some new video game he had gotten. Because of this, he had been known to fall asleep in several of his classes, though not often, only once or twice. He always had bags underneath his eyes, and was in a tired mood, unless they were playing something like kickball in gym.

As Nadia went to throw her finished stick away, Will caught the eye of the local school thug, a spoiled kid named Drake. Every school in the country had a guy like him; tall, strong, but not quite handsome or smart. The one who served detention every other day, who killed time in class by making dirty jokes behind the teacher's back, and who was regularly sent to the principal's office for getting involved with fights.

Now, Will wasn't what we would call "weak" (I am weak.), more so, he was able bodied enough to defend himself if needed by a guy a couple of years older than him. If he outnumbered though, he'd been in trouble. Drake didn't scare Will; it was more the prospect of being embarrassed by losing in a fight to him, since that was really his only fear.

When Drake saw Will was alone, he smirked and stomped toward him, no doubt going to give a lame excuse to try and beat him up, which was that there was nothing better to do. As he did, the regular trouble makers who allied themselves with him followed, as well as the average amount of about twenty people. Will glared Drake down with his blue eyes, but he seemed unfazed.

"Well lookie here guys, what do we have here? Will Layton, alone, without his dear Nadia to defend him?" he called in a mocking tone, "How does he think he's going to survive without any defense?"

"You leave her out of this" Will muttered, taking a step forward, his sweatshirt flapping in the breeze. "Pick on me all you want in your pathetic way, but you had better not say anything about her again."

Drake laughed a little, but his tone became slightly malicious; Will had touched a nerve. "Well well, someone seems to be speaking up for themselves. For once." He frowned and said "I don't like people back talking me."

Most of the "popular" (I believe popularity is stupid) people in the crowd began to take out their cell phones, so they could take pictures for gossiping on the fight later, like they did every time this sort of event happened. Nadia had managed to push herself into the front so she could see, but was not interfering; she knew Will, and knew he wouldn't allow her to get hurt, because no matter how much beating he took, he always believed he won everything if he protected those close to him.

As the thug stepped forward and pulled back a fist, Will braced himself, ready to throw his body out of the way and counterattack with his own.

One. Two. Three. Four seconds went by. Nothing came. Will opened his eyes.

There, in front of his face, maybe a centimeter or two, was Drake's fist. But it was gray; it looked like it had just been but into an old black and white movie, because all the color from it had vanished. As Will started to look around, he saw _everything _and _everyone_ was the same gray, and they weren't moving at all. Walking over, Will stared hard into Nadia's eyes, filled with concern. They were glassy, and were unblinking. Her skin did not depress by the touch of his fingers, and it felt cold and hard.

"What the Hell is going on..." he said, as he looked up at the frozen sky, with a helicopter floating in midair without the blades turning or any sound coming from it.

Looking at himself, Will saw he had not lost his color, as his shirt was red as ever. He was of course, moving, blinking, breathing, not frozen in time, and wondering how to reverse whatever had happened. Just as he was about to sit down against the wall, he heard a noise apart from his own movement.

_He heard the growling of something on the other side of the frozen crowd._

* * *

Okay, yeah, it was a little on the short side, but I might be able to finish this part up by Monday! That's all there is today!

You people rock!

-WillHeroX


	3. The Genesis, Part 2

Okay, this was suppose to be posted late last night, but the document up loader wasn't working, so yeah, here it is now. Hope you guys enjoy!

And here's the disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material owned by Nintendo, Square-Enix, Remedy, Capcom, Level-5, Valve, or any other company. If I did, Half-Life 2: Episode 3 would have been released already...

* * *

Before Will could move a muscle, the crowd was moved away by an invisible force, with some falling over, but retaining their original position; Drake's fist was caught in the elbow of a girl Will vaguely knew, but Nadia hadn't been affected as much, strangely, as she had only slid across the ground, still on her feet, not like most of the others, who were face down.

However, none of this registered to Will, as he was busy worrying for his life.

The growling had come from something out of a fairy tale; a tall skeleton, with pale bones, clad in leather boots, and the typical armor of a knight, with a few odd pieces like arm guards and a helmet missing. It was holding a rusty sword that had looked like it hadn't been in use for ages, but still as deadly as the day it was forged. In its other hand it held a battered shield, with the rim being made of bronze and the center of iron. It clunked forward, its armor rattling against the white bones, and the sockets where its eyes should have been glowing bright red.

Will, who was backing up to the wall slowly, his palms outward and a nervous smile on his face, said "Uhh..listen, Mr…can I call you…Skully?"

The skeleton grunted a little, and continued forward, now raising its sword above its head.

The blonde backed up more quickly, but found himself against the brick wall of the school. "I'm sure we can talk this out…" he tried, but again, the skeleton merely grunted, and brought its sword down, aiming for Will. As the teen put his hands up in a vain effort to stop the blow, a bright light appeared in his hand, causing both himself and the skeleton to shield their eyes and back away.

After the golden light had faded, Will gripped his hand on the source of the light.

The sword felt light in his hand, but powerful. Will crouched and held the newly acquired blade with two hands, glaring at the skeleton warrior. Some of the glow had faded from its sockets.

Will smirked. "Let's do it." Leaping into the air, he brought the blade down towards the skull, but he was intercepted by the skeleton's own blade, and then shoved away midair by its shield. He flew several feet, hitting the concrete hard.

Just as he managed to get to his feet, the skeleton shoved Will again, and the teen flew again, into a corner, with a trickle of blood running down his hairline. Wiping more from his mouth, he weakly stood, and held his sword in defense of the oncoming enemy. He managed to roll under the next attack, to come up behind the monster, and struck it in the back. As some of the ribs cracked and turned to dust, the skeleton bellowed, quickly turning 180 degrees and brining its sword down, which gave out a clang as it hit Will's sword.

Pushing with all his might, the blonde knocked away the blade, and took two quick swipes at his foe, which caused the bony arm holding the shield to disintegrate. Powered by sudden hope, he took a quick leap into the air, and brought it down through the skull, shattering all of the remaining parts. The leftover sword and shield burst into clouds of darkness.

As the boy sunk to his knees and the blade that had magically appeared fell beside him, he panted. "What…the Hell…just…happened.."

He was shook out of his trance by a sound. _Clapping. _Will looked up.

Leaning against the brick wall was a hooded figure, dressed in a long dark cloak, with black boots. From what Will could tell, he was about six feet tall, and he seemed to be built enough to go a few rounds with someone tougher then Drake. The figure, only its lips visible, smirked.

"Well done, that was…passable, for a guy like. If I was you, I wouldn't have let him shove me like that" the figure said, in a tone that was slightly sarcastic, yet complimenting, and Will could tell he was male. He regarded his black gloved before continuing. "Then again, you don't have any experience…so I guess your performance was admirable, for you, but me…meh...that was, well, not that great."

Will, who by now had stood up and was staring at the cloaked man, asked, "Who are you?"

The figure's smirk uncurled, and he seemed expressionless. "That's not important…now..maybe later I'll tell you…" he walked away from the wall, until he was behind Will. "What's really important is who you are."

The young man paced around the pavement, his hands clasped behind his back and avoiding the still gray and frozen bodies. "You, my friend, are, as they say in pretty much all mass media, the 'Chosen one', if you prefer. Okay, yeah, sounds absurd right? 'But I'm just a normal kid! What the heck can I do?'"

Will, who was watching the figure, closed his mouth, as he had been about to say the exact same thing. Perhaps the man could read minds, he thought.

"So, yes, I'm pretty much the guy who's like, 'Hey dude! You've gotta go slay this evil dude and save the world!', but it's a little different." He stopped, turned towards Will, and pointed. "You, Will, are the Hero of Destiny, destined-yes, haha-to save not the world, but _time itself_."

There was silence for a few seconds, before Will spoke up. "Well…okay, yeah, I'm gonna be stereotypical about this. Like you said, it sounds absurd…but.,.I am kinda trying to take in..this…"-he gestured to the frozen world-"in…I mean, okay, how the Hell would anyone be able to save time itself from collapsing or stopping or whatever happening to it?"

"Well…I can't really tell you 'how' to do things…it's more that I'm going to show you…but not now…I need to speak very seriously with you for a moment."

"Oh, so we weren't just then when you were all serious and dramatic with the finger pointing?" Will said sarcastically.

"…okay, more serious" the man said in a sort of defeated tone. "That monster you destroyed, its being here, and time stopping like this, is because of the fact that time is actually collapsing. You see, time is something that flows continuously, always running everywhere, but something is beginning to cause this…time to freeze in random moments, and that would eventually cause the flow to be interrupted, and be thrown into chaos. It is essential that the problem is fixed as soon as possible…lest the situation get worse."

Will picked up the blade he had dropped earlier on the ground that had appeared from nowhere. "Alright…I've got a couple of questions…one, how come when time froze, why didn't I freeze with it?"

The figure started to pace again. "Well, isn't that obvious? You're the Chosen one...guy…thing…it's like you're immune to the evil, right? And also, I know you're about to ask…that sword, I honestly don't know anything about it, sorry" he finished shortly, which made Will feel like he had just been lied to.

Just as he stopped, the sword disappeared in a flash of red light. Will noticed after a moment of wildly looking around that it was on his back, seemingly staying in place despite the fact that Will wasn't wearing a scabbard or harness. It was in the perfect place for him to quickly reach back for if he needed to.

Finally, the figure came up to Will, only a couple of feet in front of him. "Did you have any more questions?"

Will put his hand on his chin, his other on his elbow, and looked up in a thinking pose. He was the kind of guy who accepted odd things happening, so he wasn't really freaking out about the whole situation. Instead of "OH MY GOD I'M DOOMED", he was thinking more along the lines of "Maybe I'll get to take down giant snakes or something, that'd be awesome…"

"Mmm...not really…." He smiled, "I'm really okay with this, I actually kinda scared of the fact that I am taking this too well…maybe I should be scared…"

The figure smiled. "No, it shows that you're not afraid in the face of danger, which is an indicator you truly are the Hero of Destiny, who is the one granted the power of altering what is to come."

"Alright…but actually, one last thing" the blonde said. "Or maybe a couple…am I going to be doing this alone, and how am I going to find out exactly HOW to stop time from collapsing?"

"That first question, I can't answer, and it seems that you're quite forgetful, because I already told you that I'm going to show you how to later…but for now, I'm going to give you your life back. Although time stopped and that monster, which by the way is called a Stalfos, came in, time was suppose to unfreeze after you destroyed it, but I kept it like this so we could have this little chat…but now, it's over." The man snapped his fingers.

* * *

Yay. Chapter completed. Well, read and review!


	4. The Genesis, Part 3

Okay, I just got back from camp a couple of days ago, so that explains the long absence, but I'm back now. I hope you guys like this, and I'll try to get one in this week. My birthday is coming up...so I'm gonna be distracted, nut I'll do my best.

* * *

WHAM. Will flew back against the wall, his head hitting the brick hard, and groaned. Drake smirked, putting his hands together and cracking his knuckles. His goons snickered as Nadia ran over and helped him to his feet. Ignoring the pain and the blush creeping into his face, he looked back over his shoulder and saw the sword was still there, but it had not clanged when it had hit the wall. Then, he saw Nadia's hand pass _through_ it, and since no one seemed to be questioning why a sword had appeared out of nowhere on his back, he assumed that only he could touch it, and maybe it would pass through other objects.

As Nadia held him up, Will glared at Drake before hobbling away with the brunette to a bench, where they sat. Since both of them had dealt with whispers like "Need your girlfriend to stand up?" or "Oh no, is your man hurt?" they easily ignored such things being said now.

Will looked at the sword while she looked at his arm. Its blade sank into the bench they sat on, as though it was a ghost.

"Well…it looks al-you okay?" Nadia said when she looked up to see him staring at nothing, his eyes unfocused. Moments went by, without the blonde moving. She sighed, and snapped her fingers in front of his face. Shaking his head, he glanced over. "Huh? What?"

"You're so out of it…did something happen?"

"What? No, nothing." But his quick and slightly nervous response made her think otherwise. She stood up and slung her backpack over her shoulder as the bell rang, signaling them to get back to class. Will stood and did the same, looking back one last time at the spot where the figure had vanished, where now there was only dust in the wind.

* * *

As the blonde dropped his backpack on the floor beside the door of his apartment, a familiar voice made itself known. "Well, I said 'later', did I not?" The cloaked figure was leaning against the wall near Will's "gaming TV", as he called it, since he never watched TV anyway. The teen glanced in his direction, narrowed his eyes a little, and went into the small kitchen, poured a glass of water, and sipped it.

The figure, unfazed from being ignored, walked until he was a couple of feet from Will. "I need to tell you how to do this…it won't be easy…"

The teen put down his glass and sighed. "It never is for the hero guy, is it?"

Smiling, the figure shook his head. "Believe me though, your…er…adventure will not be as long as others' have been in multimedia and all that." He said. "At least, your first one" he mumbled to himself.

"What?"

"Oh nothing…now…this will probably take awhile…and it's critical we don't waste any time. Your universe is at stake, after all."

"Wait...my universe…so there are others?"

"Oh, don't worry, you don't have to worry about those, they've all or already will be saved at some point by some teenager."

* * *

The two males sat on the roof of Will's apartment, taking in the setting sun as the orange glow bathed the city. Cars wove their way through the backed up streets, and families walked and laughed with one another, not a care in the world. "So lucky..." Will thought, as he watched them.

The figure's exposed lower face expressed a show of depression, as though he knew how Will was feeling. "Listen…what happened today, is going to happen more. I've estimated that the next time will be tomorrow, at about noon. Every time it happens, there's going to be a crossover between this time and another, or even another world. You'll have to deal with the anomalies before time can function normally again."

"Pff, that's it?" the blonde smirked. This would be easier then he thought.

"Oh no no, that's only the beginning." The teen's smirk faded. "There's a lot more than that..I'm sure your familiar with the 2012 conspiracy?"

"Yeah, I know about it…wait..NO..you don't-"

"Yes, I do. What's happened is, someone, or something, has interfered with this world's flow of time, and they did something that has caused the 2012 prediction to actually be true." The figure wasn't speaking with any hint of sarcasm: he was being truthful. "The anomalies are an effect of the change, and will continue up to the date of December 21st, next year."

Will looked at the man. "What's going to happen then, on the 21st?"

The man stood, and walked to a ledge of the building. "...I cannot tell you…it is too horrible…too gruesome and awesome in power. You're not ready to hear about it yet."

"Oh come on-"Will started, but he was cut off.

"No, I'm not telling you…you will learn when the time is right…but for now, I need to prepare you for that date, and the months to come."

Will, still pouting after being denied the knowledge of the Armageddon, uncrossed his arms. "Like what?"

"I can tell you one thing about the enemy you face…you will need to know this…in this world, Hell has been called a place where souls burn forever at hands of the Devil while they face Damnation, but in reality, that is not the case…Hell is another realm, where it burning, and its leader is a horned creature, but the place where evil souls of the Earth go is not warm-it is freezing. Ice is your true enemy-it can be used in some worlds effectively, with magic, and some heroes do use it for the greater good, but it also lays at the root of all evil. Think, have you ever heard of something evil being 'warm'? No, they are described as cold, and icy. Our souls burn with passion, they do not freeze."

The blonde thought for a moment. "Oh…I get it."

The figure nodded. "The entity is a being of ice, not of this world. But it also has some aspects of a creature of fire, such as the power to rain down terror from the sky, but in the end, it's main power reserve comes from the element of ice. You're going to need something to destroy what I call its outer shell…something imbued with the element of fire."

"Okay…well, where do I get something like that?"

He scoffed. "How should I know? I'm just the mentor guy in this story who tells the young hero what to do, I don't know everything."

Will sweat dropped, and reached back for his sword, examining it. "Do I get any cool weapons besides this thing?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do have some things for you…maybe not really weapons, per see." Will's face fell. "But I believe you will find them useful in combat." The hooded man snapped his fingers, and a bag made of a black, soft material appeared, which Will took. He pulled out a leather belt, which had several pockets hanging off of it to store things in. The other item that was in it was a digital watch, which displayed the time, date, and year. There was knob to increase or decrease each one, along with a red button on the other side of it.

"Those pockets are actually much bigger than their appearance, allowing for the storage of much larger items." The figure stated, "And that watch will actually allow you to time travel."

Will's eyes widened. "Seriously?" he exclaimed, and he immediately started to put it on, before the figure grabbed his wrist, and held tightly.

"Listen to me, I'm being very serious about this. Use this only when it's required, not for the fun of it. Using this _will _increase the number of anomalies that appear in your time. Also, do _not _mention what I've told you to anyone. I mean it."

The teen looked up at the figure, trying to see under the hood of the man who had changed his life today. The visible part of his face conveyed the seriousness in his voice.

"Okay…I won't." he replied, and slipped the watch and belt on.

The figure, having released his wrist, now said "I must go now, I have..errands to attend to…and, remember something..."

"What?"

"…never…not once…trust anyone who says they know…" and the man was gone, just like that.

* * *

There you guys go. Another day, another chapter. So yeah, please review, give some feedback, and I'll be with you guys soon again!

-WillHeroX


	5. The Genesis, Part 4

...hate me all you guys want...I'm sorry...I've had work (yes, I got a job), a trip to Maine, and...birthday games to be played...and now school has started..joy...I'll get them in as fast as I can...so yeah, here you go.

* * *

The figure had been right. The following day, as Will had been running to his third period, because he had been in the bathroom, his watch beeped, signaling the change of the hour. In this case, it was now 12.

A familiar grayness swept through the walls and people around him. Expressions froze, the squeaking of shoes stopped, and the chatter in the halls faded away. The blonde came to a halt, and looked at his new watch, which had stopped beeping. "He was right..." he muttered.

Putting his arm down, and his backpack aside, Will suddenly realized he was aching all over. There were bruises on his arms and legs, and he felt some on his back as well. "They're from yesterday…the skeleton monster..." the teen thought, and came to the conclusion that wounds he got when time froze only appeared when it happened.

While he pondered this, a hellish roar came from down the hall he was in, in an adjoining corridor. Drawing his sword slowly, the Hero of Destiny put his back to the wall and inched along it, until he was able to peek down the hall the roar came from.

There were dark green vines running up and down the hall, covering up every inch of the walls, ceiling and the floor. As Will watched this take place, he failed to notice one curl itself around his ankle. When he did, it was when the vine gave a vicious tug, causing his to fall on his back and proceed to get pulled by it. Will's struggle was fruitless, and he was brought through the doors to the auditorium, where he immediately wrinkled his nose from the pure stench in the room.

What had once been a very clean, nice auditorium was now literally a cesspool-around the stage was a pool of dark liquid, with a violent tint. Cattails and long grass cropped up along the edge of the liquid, along with several lily pads.

Will however, was busy hacking away at the vine with his sword, frantically glancing up at the source of the roar.

A long, blue tongue lashed out from the jaws of the creature. It was not of the earth, and if it was, it had been extinct for a long time. The plant's jaw was several feet in width, enough to eat a human whole, and there was a set of sharp teeth along with it, dripping with the dark liquid. Along with the one jaw in the middle, which was twenty feet of the ground, connected by a large mass of plant matter to a huge lily pad, there were two separate heads, both connected to the main 'body' by a long, wiry curl of more vines They both had similar jaws, albeit a little smaller. The flesh of the body was dark green intermingled with red, while the heads had an orange, scaly appearance. The creature's heads bobbed around, and then one of the smaller rushed toward Will.

Having just freed himself, Will just managed to dodge out of the way, and as a bonus, he threw his sword back randomly, trying to be cool, and actually managed to slice the head off. As Will went to retrieve his sword, smirking and thinking, "this won't be so bad", the decapitated head burst into a cloud of dark purple smoke, before fading away. However, when Will turned around, his smirk faded as well.

There was an unpleasant gurgling sort of noise, and then the creature's head grew back, and seemingly smiled malevolently at him, before spewing out some of the purple liquid at the teen.

Though Will quickly threw himself hard to the right, his left leg managed to get hit, and immediately started burning in pain. Crying out and crashing to the floor instead of landing smoothly like he'd planned, the teen clutched the purple rash on his foot, and managed to slowly get to his feet, and hobble out of the way of another goo attack.

"Great, so it can't die" he thought, as he threw himself away from the other head taking a bite at him. Looking around, Will saw the only means of escape was back into the hall he'd come from. Sighing, he made a mad dash toward his last hope, jumped through the doors, but then messed up by slamming into the wall. Clutching his side, he went as fast as he could backwards down the hall, fending off one of the smaller heads, which had followed him.

One jab at the head found its mark, but all that did was get the creature a little angry. Instead of attempting to clamp its jaw around him, it went full on, ramming Will straight on, sending him a few feet through the air, skidding down in front of a closet. Quickly standing, he dove inside, and slammed the door shut. The monster's head started head butting it, causing the hinges and lock to groan.

"C'mon, c'moooon, there's gotta be something…" the teen muttered to himself, as he searched through the shelves for anything he could use. His foot kicked something a large jug of some liquid, causing him to crouch down and see the snow white words on it: KEROSENE.

Will smirked. "Now we're talking." He then did another quick search to produce some matches, which were stuffed in his pocket. As the hinges finally gave way, Will quickly poured some kerosene into a small bucket, and threw it at the creature's head.

Because there was no immediate effect, the creature did not pause very long, and surged forward, its jaw open wide. Will leapt barely out of the way, struck a match, and lit a mop, which he had also dunked in the flammable liquid. The blonde proceeded to rub the mop on its head catching on fire itself. The head started to thrash about, and then retracted from the room. Rushing after it, clutching the mop and kerosene filled bucket, the blonde saw it was beginning to shrivel, and eventually died itself.

Bypassing it, the teen got back to the gym, where the creature had started letting out a cry of agony from the death of one of its heads. Noticing Will, it dove for him with the main head, flecks of the dark liquid trailing in its wake, the tongue lashing out. This was just what he was asking for.

Will quickly lit a match, dropped in the bucket, and tossed it into the jaw of his enemy. The monster stopped abruptly, as smoke poured out of its mouth and several places on its body. For good measure, the teen poured the last bit into the pool of liquid, and threw another match into it. It surprisingly lit very quickly, and soon the whole monster was only a black, charred hunk of plant matter. It began to disintegrate even further, until all that was left was the pool of liquid, and a vine or two.

Before Will could do anything else, there was a bright light, and then he was standing back in the 'real' world, and the vine anomaly was gone without a trace. The rash he has received earlier had seemingly faded, but Will knew when the anomalies came back, it would as well. The teen quickly walked to his class, sitting down just as the bell rang. Will put his head down on his folded hands, and proceeded to listen to the lecture, occasionally almost falling asleep, his eyes drooping.

That afternoon found the blonde with Nadia at Towairaito Tower, their favorite hangout spot, which they were at when they weren't sifting through mountains of homework, or when Nadia had her violin lessons. They were both licking the ice cream bars Will had brought, and were watching the crimson sun set down for the night.

"It's beautiful, huh?" the brunette commented.

"You say that every time it's like this" Will said, as he bit into his own ice cream. He then clutched his head tightly, screaming "GAH! BRAIN FREEZE!"

Nadia sweat dropped. "How do you get a brain freeze from biting into ice cream?'

Will, still holding his head in hands, didn't answer. The brunette sighed and kicked her legs a little, letting them bounce off of the old stone of the tower. They sat like that for another hour or so, before the two said their goodbyes and headed off.

Arriving at home, Will immediately threw his backpack into its usual place in the corner, and flung himself on the small bed he had, and stared up at the ceiling. He thought about how he was still taking in the fact that he was supposedly some hero, but it wasn't really hitting him like it should be, like he had already had some feeling this sort of thing. Shrugging to himself, the teen rolled over and fell into a deep sleep several minutes later, thinking about the following day, and if he would encounter something deadlier then the parasitic plant he had seen, or an easier foe.

* * *

Okay, well, that's it...I think TEoT will be finished by about Christmas if I can get a chapter every one or two weeks, and then 2012 is all for Explorers of Dimensions. Thanks for sticking with me, I'll be back with an update soon!


	6. We Can't Escape This

Chapter 2: We Can't Escape This

Disclaimer still stands

* * *

A harsh knock came to the door of Will's apartment just as the teen was just opening his eyes. He groaned in annoyance at being disturbed on one of the precious few days he had nothing to do but glue his eyes to some screen, his fingers jamming all around the keyboard or controller. Walking to the door and answering it in the pants he had slept in, he was mildly surprised to see Nadia standing there, her arms crossed and marking him with a look of irritation.

He blinked. "What?"

She sighed, exasperated. "Did you just wake up?" her bright yellow eyes glancing at his unkempt hair and tired look.

The blonde shrugged. "More or less. Why?"

"It's 3 pm, as in, you were suppose to meet me, oh, 3 hours ago." Nadia replied in an off-hand fashion, glancing around, nowhere in particular.

"...oh..."

"Yeah, 'oh'. I missed the movie I was going to go to with some friends waiting on you for our Mario Kart tournament, which YOU had the idea for, and can't even bother showing up on time. So now, you kinda owe me 10 bucks for the ticket, and a favor." she smirked, poking her friend in between the eyes.

He frowned as he pulled out his wallet. "Where does the favor come from?" he asked as he handed over the bills. She stuffed them into her small purse. "You wanted to do the tournament which I was all for, but you missed it, costing me time. So now, I'm taking your game time."

His eyes widened in horror. "Aww what..." he sighed. "Fine..." he muttered dejectedly.

She smirked in triumph, knowing Will would always do what she favored. "I'll wait downstairs for you" she said while she turned and walked down the stairs.

Will sighed while looking after her; he had, as any hero has, a crush on the beautiful girl. She'd been one of the only people who had been nice to him, and they shared a lot of the same hobbies and preferences. He knew they'd never be together though, because he'd heard she had a small crush on some guy in the 10th grade, and they were nowhere on the same level. She was beautiful, amazing, and sweet. He was average, socially awkward, and, in his mind, "not worthy".

As he threw on a scarlet shirt and brushed his teeth, Will thought about how there hadn't been any anomalies in the last week-the longest stretch since he had started to fight them a month ago, which had flown by. After the plant beast, there had only been a couple more of the skeleton creatures he had first encountered. That had been a week ago, and things had been quiet since.

He grabbed his wallet as he went out the door, heading down the stairs and catching up with the brunette. Sliding his hands into his pockets, the blonde gloomily looked around as they walked to wherever she was taking him. His sword still hung off his back, invisible and intangible to the normal world.

* * *

Will bumped into Nadia when she stopped abruptly. "Well, here we are." she said, nodding her head at the mall they were beside. The older teen sighed in depression; he hated malls. He opened and held the door for her. "Ladies first."

Smiling at him, she began to walk inside before she stopped in mid step, not moving. Will started and touched her: cold as ice. The door was even colder, and he jerked his hands away quickly. Looking around, he saw the same everywhere; cars stopped, mouths open but no air came in or out. Another anomaly had entered his world, but it was not the same: the world retained its color, but a heavy fog set in, so thick that it was hard to see ten feet out in front of him. And the temperature had gone down below freezing-and it was snowing.

"This is bizarre" Will said to himself, as he walked away from his statue of a friend, knowing nothing could be done to help her until whatever had come this time was defeated. He thought about how there had never been anything _normal _to bridge the gaps between times; everything had been some sort of fantasy creature, from a skeleton to a giant plant monster.

Will's teeth chattered as he walked up the street, searching for any sign of movement.

* * *

"OH COME ON!" the teen cried out in agony thirty minutes later, having walked a couple of miles down the same road, not having encountered any sign of life. He had begun to sneeze frequently, but his nostrils had frozen, so it hurt like hell. Wearing only a sweatshirt and jeans didn't help keep him warm, and his shoes were soaked from the few inches of snow that had fallen. He decided that he would find someplace where he could warm up before looking some more. Just as this thought came into his head, a sizzling sort of noise came from behind him. Spinning around while drawing his sword-which was unusually warm-Will turned to see something that nearly made him just give up right there.

The world was literally being eaten up-a wave of black and yellow energy, which was seemingly moving as the ground, not on it, was swiftly moving towards him. What was left behind it was just darkness and fog, which went on forever.

Will turned and ran for his life, sheathing his sword and tearing down the street. The sound of the world sizzling pounded in his ears, and his eyes desperately glanced around for something that would help, anything that would help. Glancing back, he was horrified to see that he was mere feet from being caught up to. He put the last of his strength in his feet, only to proceed to trip over a curb and go tumbling down onto the road. Before the teen could move, the earth was eaten up underneath him, and he was falling. Tears went to his eyes as he realized he was going to die. "I'm sorry" he choked out, and it was then that the blonde shot off his pillow, soaked in sweat, panting like a dog.

"Oh God...Oh Goooooooood" he choked, before falling back on the small pillow and putting his hands on his face. "God..." he whispered again, before turning over and checking his bedside clock: it was 3 in the morning.

"Great..." the blonde said, and proceeded to toss and turn for the next ten minutes before managing to fall asleep again, which was the catalyst for his waking up at three that say.

* * *

"It's 3 pm, as in, you were suppose to meet me, oh, 3 hours ago." Nadia said, as she again looked at nothing in particular

"_This is crazy_" Will thought. "_Did I dream what happened today? Is this still a dream?_" he pinched himself. "Yup, that hurt" he muttered.

"Hey, are you listening?" the brunette said, her hands on her hips. "It's not nice to ignore your best friend you know" she winked.

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm out of it this morning, kinda...Déjà vu."

* * *

Later, when the whole day had panned out the same, albeit no anomaly when Nadia has entered the mall, found the two teens sitting at a small pizzeria half way between their houses that they occasionally ate at. As they dug in, the girl looked at her friend curiously. "Are you okay dude? You've been out of it all day, and didn't even complain when I made you come with me. What gives?"

The blonde shrugged. "Like I said, I'm out of it...I just kind of feel lucky to be alive, y'know?"

Smiling, she replied "Yeah, I feel that way too."

"_Man she's cute..._" he thought wistfully as he took a bite of his slice. After they were done, Will dropped a few bills on the table and they walked out, waving to each other as they headed home. The blonde put his hands behind his head as he made his way through the now dark streets, with the occasional gust of wind brushing against his cheek. When he got to his apartment, Will began walking to his bed when he first heard it.

_"We can't escape this."_

Whirring around for the second time that day, if you included the dream, Will didn't see anything out the ordinary. His shadow seemed unusually long, but he assumed that was just because of the bright lamp that was behind him. Turning back and stripping off his shirt, the teen sunk down onto his bed into a deep sleep, this time not plagued with nightmares but the same words over and over:

_"We can't escape this, none of the others have."_

As he slept, his shadow watched him; it was sitting up, unlike its host, and was bearing its blood red eyes into Will, with two horns poking out of its skull.

* * *

Sorry for the wait on this.


	7. The Man in the Moon is Scary

Sorry it took so long for this, I've been dancing around with ideas, and no the entirety of the first part of the Explorer's Saga is in my head, so now things should go more quickly!

The disclaimer still stands, I don't own any of the characters/plot elements/anything else that someone else made up.

* * *

_Two pairs of eyes looked down upon me as I fell, two pairs of very different eyes. One, wide and glassy, showing great fear; the other conveying that their owner was smirking in triumph at having sent me to my death. I turned in midair to face the earth, watching it approach rapidly. I closed my eyes in fear and curled up, preparing for the end._

* * *

2 days ago...

**It was the last time for awhile that I felt safe.**

I sighed in annoyance at the loud bout of cheering that ensued from the result of our team scoring. "Remind me _how _you made me come with you?" I asked Nadia for what seemed like the 20th time, which it probably was.

"Because" she said, poking me as she munched on her popcorn, "You need to get out more instead of being cooped up inside." We were at one of the varsity football games, which involves several things I despise. Social events, being in public, and I'm not exactly a fan of sports either. So somehow, she had convinced me to get out and "get some fresh air" as she put it. So now, I'm standing here against the side of the bleachers, thanking God that it was the second half.

I crumpled up the empty bad of sour gummy worms I'd been eating and held out my hand. "I'll take your trash" I offered to her. She smiled and gave it to me, turning back to the game for which I did not allow my attention. I walked through the crowd of eager freshman, the opposite of myself, and the upperclassmen to the small concession stand. Someone bumped shoulders with me while I glanced one way, and looking back I saw it was Drake, smirking as he walked away. It was surprising to me that someone as big as him wasn't actually out on the field, but then again the smartest thought that came into his head was to remember to breathe, so he probably didn't keep his grades up enough to qualify.

Dropping the litter in the trash can, I turned to walk back to Nadia, but then did a quick glance back; a pair of bright blue eyes had been coming from...somewhere...and had been entirely on me. Wherever I had seen them was devoid of them now. Shrugging as a way to comfort myself, I turned and fast walked, a feeling of dread creeping up my spine and causing me to shiver.

Finally, an hour or so later, the game ended, our team getting swamped 45-0. I wasn't caring or complaining about the loss at all, it didn't change anything. I turned to my brunette friend, "Can we go now? Please?"

She sighed and replied "Yeah, sure. Let's go."

Luckily, our high school was only a twenty minute walk from my apartment, and we were planning to crash there for an hour, since it was only eight. We were making our way there when I began to get that feeling again; that something was in the air, and that there was an alien presence.

However, as I has began to quickly glance around, I noticed the world wasn't fading to a gray texture, and the city was still very much alive. That was the moment when I realized something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

In the distance, at what is basically our city's Times Square, but called "The Crossroads", there came the sound of hundreds of people screaming. People up and down the block we were on became wide eyed, and being the curious people they were, started to make the job for a few blocks to get there. I glanced back at my friend, who also had her eyes open wide and her hand was covering her mouth. "Will, what was-"

I cut her off. "I'm going to check it out" I told her in a probably too aggressive tone, "I'll be back soon, just stay here, okay?"

She looked startled at this and shook her head, her eyes having that look that just said 'no.' "I'm not letting you go alone, it could be dangerous."

The wind began to pick up, and I realized whatever was at The Crossroads, I had to deal with. Reluctantly, I turned and starting running as I called out to her over the wind. "Fine!"

She surprisingly caught up to me within seconds, and stopped me, holding my shoulders. This was the most serious look she'd ever given me. "You know what's happening, don't you?" I tried to look amused, but I failed miserably. "I can tell...you're giving off something that's just...telling me..."

More screams. I couldn't talk to her now, bigger things were happening. I tried to take her hands off my shoulders in the quickest but the gentlest way possible, but to her I think she was just as hurt if I'd threw them away. "We'll talk later, I promise."

That was the first mistake I made today, as I ran away from the girl I cared for so dearly. She watched me for a few seconds before slowly walking the direction I took, toward The Crossroads.

By the time I made it there, the screams had subsided, but the tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. There were about a couple thousand people running along the outside of the square that made the Crossroads, and they were all quivering in fear, some staring up in wonder, and some looking dumbly at the center, where it looked like there had been some sort of earthquake/explosion; the earth was all torn up, and a crater as large as basketball court was in that wreckage.

My eyes widened when I saw the bodies-_literally hundreds of them_. Some had a person or two embracing them, sobbing in terror at the lost of their friend or loved one. I became enraged at this, and finally glared up at the one who was responsible.

A tiny speck of a figure that had been hovering near the top of the clock tower now descended enough to be seen clearly. It was about 4 feet tall, and was dressed in a red cloak, which covered what I assumed to be clothes made out of straw, which stuck out a few inches out from the cloak. It also wore gloves of the same material, a belt that was seemingly wooden circles and small sticks bound with string, and small pointed boots.

However, the eye drawing feature was the mask that it wore. It had a heart shape, with a horn on each bump, and four going down the sides. They two eyes were bright orange, and were surrounded by a red area that stretched down to the bottom of the mask. There were some other dots and shapes filling in the rest, with a yellow shape around the top horns, the rest being filled in with purple.

The figure laughed maniacally, and surprised; it was the voice of a kid, albeit more sinister in nature and mischievous.

"Ha ha ha, they're going to stay like that forever!" it laughed, basking in the destruction it had caused. In an abrupt change, it stopped laughing, paused for a moment, and looked around. "Oh poo, none of you think my power is funny, do you?"

The crowd gathered around the destruction stood silent, and I guessed most of them were still in shock or something. The figure seemed to pout. "Well fine then, I guess I'll just have to show some more of it!"

I couldn't think of anything to do to stop it, because revealing myself could have more dangerous consequences. All I knew at the moment was that an anomaly-the strangest one yet-had broken the rules from before. It could interact and kill people-and it still hadn't even acknowledged me, it's real only threat at the moment. My sword was no longer on my back-I had discovered that when running to the Crossroads, so I had no real weapon at the moment. I was powerless.

The figure stretched its arms and legs, its mask facing the starry sky, and it began to shake violently. For a second no one moved or said anything. Then, people began to scream, and looking up, I saw why.

The moon was getting bigger-much bigger. It was coming down toward the Earth at a high speed, and everyone began to scream louder and flee in terror. The figure didn't seem to mind, and stopped it's odd dance type ritual, looking down at me directly.

The moon was now only a few miles above us, but it was significantly smaller compared to normal. And it was twisted unto the figure's desires-it now had bright red eyes, a large crater filled nose, and a wide grimace. The few who had remained now joined the rest, running away in fear, but pretty much hopelessly running; the moon crashing would spread over miles and obliterate probably the entire state.

The figure chuckled, and I was somehow able to hear it over the still existing screams. "In less than three days, this city will be crushed underneath the might of the moon." It stated simply, and finished with "I can't wait to see the finale". It turned and rose up to the top of the clock tower, disappearing from view.

I stood there, and contemplated my chances. I was faced with the lives of over a million people on my shoulders, and already I had failed to save the lives of the hundreds in the crater of destruction in front of me. Sighing, I turned and sat on one of the benches, putting my face in my hands, before a hand was laid on my shoulder. I peeked out to see another familiar face-or familiar hood. The black cords that hung from his cloak swung back and forth as he sat down.

"We need to talk."

* * *

Yay, end of chapter. Wait, yay? I hope you're not saying that. Well, with Skyward Sword just around the bend, I'll hopefully be able to crank out another chapter before I get wrapped up in it.

And if my writing is so poor that you didn't know, the child like figure is indeed Skull Kid, wearing the cursed Majora's Mask.


End file.
